Conventional photographic chemistries have limitations which are well known. Such limitations require that a photographic film be exposed for a sufficiently long time so that conventional photographic chemistries can develop the film to provide the desired contrast and other results to permit the proper analysis of the developed film to obtain the desired information therefrom. In the case of X-rays, long exposure times are harmful to human beings and precautions should be taken to assure that a patient does not receive an unnecessary overexposure of X-rays. However, a safer exposure to X-rays is, in many cases, not sufficient to assure that the X-ray film, when developed by using conventional photographic chemistries, has the proper information recorded on it. Either the information cannot be obtained from the film or higher exposure of the patient to the X-rays is required.
Another drawback concerning the use of conventional photographic chemistries is that they do not contain ingredients which properly clean certain components, such as rollers, automatic film processing equipment sufficiently to prevent frequent maintenance of such equipment. As a result, photographic developing processes must be interrupted for such maintenance to clean the equipment so that the equipment can be placed in operation once again as soon as possible.